Chapter 69
My hands unconsciously clenched the fabric of my skirt.
In those few seconds, several terrifying possibilities flashed through my mind.
"What's wrong?"
Leopold had noticed something was off. Seeing his gaze drop to my hands, I didn't want him to catch on, so I pretended to smooth out my skirt.
"Nothing. Just remembered something."
"What?"
I lifted my eyes to look at him. Even in the dim light, his handsome features remained sharply defined.
"Leopold, are you still hiding something from me?"
Leopold's gaze deepened. "What do you want to know? Just ask."
"Can you tell me—what is it about Sophia that attracts you so much?"
This question had plagued me for so long. Leopold wasn't stupid. I refused to believe he couldn't see right through Sophia.
"What difference would it make if you knew?" Leopold stared straight at me. "Are you planning to become like her?"
I laughed coldly. "You're reading way too much into this. If I knew, I could just step aside and let you two have each other. Save me from having her latch onto me like a rabid dog."
Leopold's pupils contracted slightly. "Lucinda," he said mockingly, "you're becoming less and less graceful in how you speak and act."
"You're wrong. How I speak and act depends on who I'm dealing with." I deliberately emphasized my words. "And Sophia only deserves to be treated this way."
Leopold turned and got out of the car.
I thought he was angry and didn't want to deal with me anymore. Only then did I try to move my legs. They worked, though my knees felt somewhat numb. Still, that was better than having no sensation at all.
I quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
My hand had barely touched the door handle when Leopold pulled it open from outside. He looked at me for two seconds, then turned his back.
"What are you doing?" I didn't understand what he meant.
He didn't turn around. His voice came calm and even, yet every word crystal clear.
"Your knees hurt, don't they? I'll carry you in."
Ripples spread through my chest. He stood perfectly still. His scent drifted on the night breeze, seeping into my lungs strand by strand.
"No—"
"Or would you prefer I carry you in my arms instead?"
My refusal died on my lips, cut off by his even more forceful response.
I had no choice. I braced myself against the seat and stood. Ignoring the tingling numbness in my knees, I climbed onto his back.
Leopold's long arms hooked beneath my knees, securing me firmly as he began walking forward. Every step he took was steady. No jostling whatsoever. No sign of strain.
Only, as we moved, we couldn't avoid brushing against each other. The thin fabric could shield us from prying eyes, but it couldn't hide our rising body heat or the increasingly taut lines of his muscles.
"Just put me down at the door. I can have someone inside come get me." Leo should be home by now. It wouldn't be convenient for Leopold to come in.
"Your parents aren't home. Who else is there?"
Leopold asked casually. Though my parents had grown displeased with him because of Sophia, it hadn't substantially affected the relationship between our families. So I wasn't surprised he knew my parents had left.
"Someone you probably shouldn't see."
Leopold's steps halted. He turned his head slightly. "That pretty boy is here?"
"His name is Leo." I corrected him. "We are living together now, so just drop me at the door. I don't want him to get the wrong idea."
Leopold let out a soft scoff, his tone unreadable. "How protective of him."
I didn't respond. Let him think what he wanted.
As we neared the door, I noticed the tingling in my knees had faded. I struggled to get down. Unable to argue with me, Leopold had no choice but to set me down.
"You can go now."
Once steady on my feet, I issued a direct dismissal.
"I'm a bit thirsty. I'd like some water before I leave." Leopold reached for the doorbell.
I quickly grabbed his arm. "There's bottled water in your car. You don't need mine."
Seeing he still didn't want to leave, I added, "Sophia should be done with whatever she was doing by now. Want me to call her to come get you?"
Leopold's expression darkened, his eyes growing murky.
"Lucinda, how about we make a deal?"
"What deal?"
"I'll cut off contact with Sophia, and you stop seeing Ethan. That way, maybe we can start over."
I froze for a moment, not understanding how he'd come to this conclusion.
"Leopold, the problem between us isn't other people. It's just you and me."
"Besides, my senior isn't Sophia. He hasn't done anything to drive a wedge between us. And we only just reconnected after all these years—I'm not cutting him off."
After all these years apart, Ethan helped me meet with my teacher and blocked Sophia from entering the Royal Ballet. I owed him for both. And if I managed to heal my leg and get into the Royal Ballet, Ethan and I would only be in touch more, not less.
Leopold's gaze returned to its usual detachment. He swept his eyes over me with zero emotion, his tone colder than the night itself.
"I knew it. You wouldn't agree."
"Lucinda, if you care about Ethan that much, why did you get involved with me in the first place?"
"That makes no sense. What do those two things have to do with each other?"
Leopold shifted his gaze to some unknown point in the distance.
"You just threw our ten years together in my face. But I want to know too—what did those ten years mean to you?"
I instantly recalled him saying something similar before. That he'd never changed—I was the one who had.
Once or twice could be a coincidence. This was the third time he'd brought it up.
"Leopold, why do you keep saying that? I haven't seen Ethan in years. What exactly did I do to make you suspect my relationship with him even now?"
Leopold raised a hand and pressed it to the bridge of his nose. When he looked at me again, his gaze had turned razor-sharp.
"You know exactly what you did."
I shook my head in confusion.
I was about to press further when his phone suddenly rang. The instant he pulled out his phone, I saw Sophia's name flashing on the screen.
"...Okay, hang tight. I'll be right there..."
After hanging up, he didn't even say goodbye, just hurried back the way he came.
I curled my lips in a silent, bitter smile. One second, he was making deals with me, the next, Sophia called, and he couldn't rush to her side fast enough.
Men's words really were the biggest lies.
I unlocked the door and prepared to go inside. But then my phone rang.
It was Ethan calling.
"Cindy, sorry to bother you so late. Can you come to the hospital? I need your help with something."
The moment I heard he was at the hospital, I agreed without hesitation.
By the time I rushed frantically to the ER, Ethan's arm had already been bandaged.
"You're the patient's family member, right? The wound on his arm is quite deep. We've stitched it up, but he needs to rest carefully, or it could affect the nerves."
"That serious?" I asked in shock.
"It's a knife wound."
The doctor started to say more, but Ethan stopped him. He gave me an apologetic look. "I'm really sorry to make you come all the way here so late."
"Ethan, we don't need to be so formal with each other."
Seeing his arm wrapped in thick bandages, my alarm grew. I couldn't help but press him.
"What exactly happened to your arm?"
After a moment's hesitation, Ethan finally answered. "It was the Percy family's bodyguards."